For as ruthless a competition as the NFL season is, the preseason/training camp competitions might be even worse. It may not be ruthless competition between teams, but it is incredibly cutthroat within teams. And roster bubble players walk on such thin ice.
It's almost impossible to play yourself into a roster spot in just one preseason game. You don't get enough opportunities, and if you were on the roster bubble to start then following one gem with three stinkers could easily get you cut anyway.
But you can certainly play yourself out of a roster spot in just one game. Heck, sometimes it only takes a couple of plays.
These Browns players may well have played themselves out of their jobs in Thursday's Hall of Fame Game.
1. Cade York
Kicker may be the position where the preseason games carry the most weight compared to training camp practices. That may seem strange, because kicking is kicking and it's basically the same no matter where you're doing it. But whatever the massive mental element is, kicking seems to be a totally different animal once things are live.
You can be the best kicker in the world in practice, but if you suddenly start struggling in games, you're not likely to get much leeway.
And while I don't know how good Cade York is in practices, it's clear in game action that he's not our guy.
York was pretty bad last season, making just 75.0% of his field goals. And the worst part is that he wasn't just being asked to kick too many tough ones — he went only 9-for-12 from 30-39 yards.
So is missing his lone kick in yesterday's game enough to warrant cutting him on its own? No, but when it was already surprising to see him still on the roster after last year's performance, it should be final straw that breaks the camel's back.
2. Anthony Schwartz
Cleveland's wide receiver competition is probably the most crowded of any position group right now. Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Elijah Moore and Cedric Tillman are all locks to make the roster. David Bell is probably pretty close to a lock, too.
So that leaves at most two or three spots open for the rest of the group to compete for, with four legitimate contenders (Anthony Schwartz, Marquise Goodwin, Jakeem Grant and Jaelon Darden) plus a handful of other players trying to make it, too.
Schwartz had plenty of opportunity to separate himself from the pack on Thursday, getting the start while Goodwin was sidelined, but he totally botched it.
Schwartz only managed to get the ball in his hands twice during the game, and on one of those opportunities he fumbled. Ball security is job security, and while a few highlight plays may have made up for the fumble, he didn't impress nearly enough to compensate for it.
In the receiver logjam, just one mistake can cost you a roster spot, and that may be exactly what happens for Schwartz.
3. Jakeem Grant
Jakeem Grant didn't play on Thursday, so maybe more accurately he was played out of a job by someone else. But however you want to spin it, Thursday's game wasn't good for Grant's potential roster spot.
Yes, Schwartz getting cut could make it easier for Grant to stick around, but with how many WRs we have, Grant's clearest path to a roster spot is as a return man. The problem is, justifying an entire roster spot for a special teamer is a tough sell if he's not going to see playing time among the crowded wide receiver group.
It would be a better situation if a player who was making the roster anyway could also handle return duties, and that may be what we're seeing with Demetric Felton.
Felton is competing with John Kelly for the RB3 job, and the competition between them is probably pretty close. But Felton ended up looking electric in the second half, finishing with 46 yards and 1 touchdown on 7 carries. He didn't get much going on his returns, but he showed some shiftiness and we know he's a capable returner.
Carrying him at the RB3 slot behind Nick Chubb and Jerome Ford while he also returns kicks and punts serviceably means that carrying a potential seventh wide receiver just to serve as a return man becomes redundant.
And of course, that's all before we get to the bigger question. Will a 30-year-old who relies on explosiveness and agility be the same player after a serious Achilles injury? Every additional game he misses makes Grant that much more of an underdog to make this roster.
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